Bones 'are those of cook'

An international forensics expert testified yesterday that the bones discovered in a shallow grave behind a Johannesburg house are almost certainly those of Betty Ketani, who disappeared while working as a chef at Cranks Thai Restaurant in Johannesburg.

In 2012, about 13 years after she went missing, a written confession uncovered during the renovation of a house in Kenilworth, Johannesburg, revealed that she had been killed as part of an alleged hit by people with links to the restaurant.

Cranks closed almost immediately after the news broke. The owner, Eric Neeteson-Lemkes, is believed to be living in Thailand, and his daughter Monica, who managed the restaurant, is in Australia.

Yesterday, Thomas Parsons, director of forensics at the International Commission for Missing Persons, in Bosnia, testified in the Johannesburg High Court trial of private detective Carrington Laughton, the alleged author of the letter and former boyfriend of Monica Neeteson-Lemkes, and two policemen brothers, David and Carel Ranger, who are accused of murdering Ketani.

He said DNA from the bones showed that there was a 99.81% chance that they were Ketani's.

Six bones believed to be hers were discovered in a shallow grave at the back of the house where the letter was found.

Three of the bones were sent to Bosnia for analysis and three were analysed in South Africa. The case continues.